SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

The Enid effectively disintegrated after Pye records went bankrupt. This is the first album they made after the disintegration which saw the band shrink from a six-piece right down to a three piece --Robert John Godfrey; Stephen Stewart and Chris North . They also recruited Kevin Godley and Lol Creme of 10cc to help with production. The album, The Enid's first to include vocals, features a strange and unique massed vocal effect which, I believe, was pioneered by Godley and Creme. Although the music still sounds like The Enid, it's slightly less symphonic-sounding and more prog-ish in nature. The opening track actually has shades of early Sid Barret era Pink Floyd about it believe it or not. The second track is more traditional Enid: a sort of renaissance dance/Viennese waltz, resplendent with the rich guitar textures of Stephen Stewart. (excellent as the guitar playing is, I still miss Francis Lickerish on this and all subsequent Enid albums.) Highlight of the album is two segued tracks, 'Evensong' and 'Bight Star'; the first is a beautiful and stately melody, very elegiac in nature, that builds to a impassioned climax then gently sinks back to where it began. The second is a lovely pastiche of Americana with a melody that combines 'Singing in the rain' with a decidedly Gershwinesque turn of phrase. Damn, The Enid were so cool. It might not be their greatest work, but SWTWC has a lot going for it.

P.S. In my review of The Enid's 'Six Pieces album, I attributed the drumming to David Storey, of course I was wrong, I should have attributed the drumming to Robbie Dobson.